Sentiments Astray
by Nyagisa
Summary: Platonic!AsseylumxInaho. Angst. Hurt/Comfort... or rather, comfort and then hurt.


Asseylum had been looking for Inaho all morning. He always seemed to be alone, where no one could find him. And of course, he was so quiet that no one on the ship had seen him that morning. Only his close friends knew he was missing. It was the day before the plan to stop the rebel Martians, known as the Orbital Knights, was to commence. Asseylum wanted to go over the plan once more with Inaho, before the next day.

She searched room after room to no avail. Finally, she had come across a closet room. The room was rather dark, save the sunlight coming in from the two small windows on the opposite side of the room. It was a storage closet used for storing clothes and other non-perishables. Inaho sat at a small table, most likely used for taking inventory of the closet while visiting the dusty room.

He looked off into the sky, staring at the clouds. He held himself up on his elbows, his right hand to his lips. His thumb barely brushed against his lip as he stared off with his usual blank expression.

"Inaho, what's troubling you?" Asseylum asked as she stepped forward towards the table where he sat.

He was startled slightly at her entrance, then he looked to face her, "Not much," he said as he turned back to the window. After gazing for a couple of seconds, he pretended to be busy in paperwork that was scattered and lying across the table.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?" she pressed.

"Not particularly."

"Inaho, don't lie to me. I can tell when you are upset about something," she pressed her lips into a thin line, looking down at him.

"I doubt that. No one seems to be able to, and we haven't even known each other long," he started off.

"I do too!" she pouted. She held her breath for a few seconds before speaking again. "When you're upset, you hold your thumb against your lips. When you're planning tactics, you make a fist and bring the knuckle of your index finger to your lips. When you're agitated, you blink blankly at the aggressor."

Inaho shook off his surprise. No one had really paid that attention to him closely before. He and Asseylum had always had a strong bond of friendship since they met. But he never imagined they would be this close of friends. He bit the inside of his cheek before speaking, "So what is this supposed to mean?"

"When you're embarrassed, you bite the inside of your cheek. Right?" she continued on.

"Sort of," he started, "or if I feel guilty, I suppose."

"Guilty for lying to me, hm?" she smirked slightly before sitting down next to him. "I can tell you don't really like to say what you are thinking… Rather, feeling. But you don't have to hide it from me. I am here for you, just as I would be for any of my subjects." She shook her head, "No, I meant, you are more important to me. I will always be here for you. I see you as a precious friend."

Inaho blushed faintly, hoping the darkness of the room would hide it. "Thanks, Seylum," was about all he could manage at the moment.

She smiled softly, "So are you going to tell me what has upset you?"

He shrugged, "I guess I could, but I don't think it would be comprehensive…" he trailed off. He waited approximately twenty seconds before speaking again, to see if Asseylum would dismiss the issue. He knew she probably wouldn't, as she was a persistent princess who thirsted for knowledge, even about her friends. "I've never been good at explaining these things before."

She nodded patiently, "I understand. Sometimes it's hard to collect your thoughts and process them into words."

He softly grunted in agreement. She placed her hand on top of his free hand that lay on the table in reassurance. He sighed internally as she waited expectantly. "I suppose… I guess… Well, I feel guilty for always rushing into things recklessly, worrying my sister and others. I wish I was able to stop."

"Why do you feel unable to stop?" she questioned with concern.

"Hmm… I just feel as if I'm unable to express emotion. Or, well, I'm not sure how. When I try, my thoughts get mixed up, and nothing comes out right. It always starts fights," he spoke softly, as if he had felt defeated. "So I… always do risky things to blow off my emotions. I become intensely angry at others for not being able to understand what I'm feeling, yet I never put forth effort to explain. So I redirect the anger at myself, doing impulsive things to distract myself from the pain of inexperience, or more likely, from not being able to open myself up to others," his voice wavered slightly, but it did not slip past Asseylum. She gripped onto his hand tightly.

"I think I understand what you are saying… I will not try to empathize, as I cannot. But I do believe that you are a strong person, Nao. I know you will be able to overcome this, as you do everything else. You mean so much to me. You are a dear friend. I will give my utmost support in any way I can," she smiled gently at him.

He looked up at her, his eyes beaded with tears. He smiled back at her slightly, "Thank you, Asseylum."

She became extremely shocked as he looked into her eyes, "Nao are you alright?! You're crying!"

He touched his finger to his eyes, feeling the wetness drip onto his fingers. He laughed almost inaudibly, "I guess I am," he wiped his face off, freeing his hard-edged hand out of his friend's delicate one. He wore a blank expression again, as he stood to walk out of the room. "We should go check on other preparations."

"Sure," she said excitedly.

Inaho felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest, yet he felt a new one added. He felt weak, as if he had not eaten in days. The longer this feeling lingered, the more defeated he felt at his display of emotion.

Inaho opened his heavy eyes; he was barely able to see. He could tell there was probably blood in his eyes. His head ached terribly. He could faintly hear Asseylum speaking to him. He came to his senses when she grabbed his hand. If he was going to die here, from concussion or whatever other serious injuries he had, he had to get out one last thing to her. "Seylum… I need to-" he was cut off by a gunshot. Everything was a blur from this point on. He felt his friend let go of his hand. He tried to climb out of his Kataphrakt desperately. He knew that he and Asseylum would most likely die here at this point. _I'm going to apologize to her, for what I said, what I did, I never meant any of it. This was never supposed to happen._ He despairingly tried to crawl over to his beloved friend, panting heavily as he lost even more blood and consciousness.

Before he knew it, Bat stood behind him. His eyes glowed with bloodthirstiness when he looked down at Inaho, as if he were the one who shot his princess. Before he knew it, there was a short exchange of words, then a brutal blow knocked him out of consciousness.


End file.
